This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 2:19 p.m. on July 23, 2026.
As the largest shareholder of Golfzon Holdings is pushing a tender offer with the aim of a voluntary delisting, minority shareholder and U.S.-based investment firm Turton Capital moved to put on the brakes. With Golfzon County, which is currently up for sale, said to be valued at up to around 2 trillion won, the claim includes that it must be verified whether the value of Golfzon Holdings' equity in Golfzon County has been properly reflected in the tender offer price.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 23rd, Turton Capital, a shareholder of Golfzon Holdings, sent an open letter to the company's board the previous day demanding that information the board has grasped regarding the sale process of Golfzon County be disclosed to minority shareholders.
MBK Partners, the largest shareholder of Golfzon County, is currently pushing the sale of the company's management control. A preliminary bid was completed on May 29, and multiple shortlisted preliminary candidates are conducting due diligence to participate in the main bid.
The market projects that Golfzon County's corporate value could reach up to 2 trillion won. MBK Partners, which holds about 68% of the controlling equity, has drag-along rights (the right to force the sale of minority shareholders' equity together) over the 31.58% held by the second-largest shareholder, Golfzon Holdings, so effectively the company's entire equity is up for sale.
Assuming Golfzon County's corporate value at 2 trillion won and net debt at about 727.8 billion won, Turton Capital estimated that the value of Golfzon Holdings' equity in Golfzon County would come to about 400 billion won.
Turton Capital estimated that the value of Golfzon County equity that shareholders targeted by the tender offer can be seen as indirectly holding through Golfzon Holdings is about 160 billion won. In contrast, the total tender offer amount proposed by the largest shareholder's side to buy all minority-held equity is about 103.7 billion won. Turton Capital argued that with money that does not even reach the minority shareholders' share of Golfzon County equity, they are buying all remaining equity of Golfzon Holdings and even taking over the rest of the assets, including Golfzon equity and real estate.
This tender offer is being pursued by SJ Investment Holdings, a special-purpose company (SPC) 100% owned by One & Partners, the personal investment company of former Golfzon Holdings CEO Kim Won-il. The tender offer price is 6,700 won per share. Although it is 57.5% higher than the closing price just before the announcement, it falls far short of Golfzon Holdings' net asset value per share of 19,076 won.
Turton Capital particularly took issue with the fact that the Golfzon Holdings tender offer began just one month after Golfzon County's preliminary bidding ended. It said information should be disclosed on what level of potential acquisition prices or corporate value was indicated during the preliminary bid process, how much Golfzon Holdings' equity was valued at, and to what extent the board and the tender offeror had grasped related information. Turton Capital's position is that ordinary shareholders must be able to decide whether to participate in the tender offer based on the same level of information as the tender offeror.
Meanwhile, Turton Capital has demanded that the Golfzon Holdings board present an official stance on the tender offer by the 27th. Under Article 138 of the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, it asked the board to state whether it supports, opposes, or is neutral on the tender offer price and transaction structure, and to explain whether 6,700 won per share is a fair price even for ordinary shareholders who have no conflict of interest with the largest shareholder. It also argued that if the board cannot reach a conclusion that it is fair, it should recommend that shareholders not accept the tender offer.
Turton Capital also urged forming a special committee composed of outside directors independent of the largest shareholder and appointing separate legal and financial advisors to conduct a valuation. Turton Capital further pointed out that even though one member of Golfzon Holdings' audit committee is classified as a related party of the tender offeror, no separate independent committee or fairness opinion from an external institution has been prepared, saying that no mechanism has been identified to independently check the tender offer process to date.
It also demanded the presentation of price standards for procedures to acquire remaining shares that could take place after the tender offer. Even if the major shareholder later pursues a comprehensive share swap or a forced acquisition of minority-held shares, it said that without an independent external valuation, a price of 6,700 won per share or lower must not be applied. The intent is to block the possibility that shareholders who did not accept the tender offer would have to sell their shares later at a lower price.
In addition, Turton Capital took issue with the fact that the company acquired treasury shares equivalent to 9.8% of outstanding shares at a cost of about 20 billion won from 2023 to 2025 but did not cancel a single share. Since treasury shares carry no voting rights, the effective voting power of the largest shareholder's family rose, and the number of floating shares subject to the tender offer fell, lowering the delisting cost for the major shareholder's side, according to Turton Capital's calculations.
Turton Capital is a global listed shares investment fund headquartered in Irvine, California. It focuses on investments in Asian corporations. Founded by Ryan Albert, it espouses an investment approach of actively engaging with management and boards on corporate governance and capital allocation issues. It did not disclose how much equity it holds in Golfzon Holdings.